"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is adopting requirements on the use of its official logo and seal. Use by any person or organization may be made only with prior written approval. Wrongful use of an official logo or seal is subject to administrative action and/or criminal penalty," the new regulations say.

In the notice, HHS says it does not expect negative reaction to the move to exert greater control over the agency's insignia. "HHS believes that this rule is non-controversial, and HHS anticipates no significant adverse comment. If HHS receives a significant adverse comment, it will withdraw the rule," the notice says.

On their face, the new rules appear to prohibit the use of HHS's logo in polticial materials, criticism or parody — even in news coverage. They explicitly apply to use of the insignia by both "non-profit" and "advocacy" groups.

Similar policies have provoked controversy and litigation when other agencies sought to enforce them. One First Amendment lawyer said Friday that the HHS rules should have made clear that under many circumstances use of an official logo is constitiutionally protected, even without permission.

"It would certainly be wiser to put in the rule a recognition that a non-confusing use is not something they can forbid," said Paul Levy of Public Citizen. The HHS rule cites three statutes that seek to control use of HHS and Social Security logos. "If somebody wanted to say 'I love HHS' and wear it on a T-shirt, they should be able to do that. It's even more of a problem to forbid people using it in commentary or a critical context."

In February, Levy reached a settlement with the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security over those agencies' efforts to ban sale of parody T-shirts by a Minnesota man, Dan McCall. "As a practical matter, they apologized," Levy said.

The new HHS rules don't make clear what precipitated the agency's move to crack down on use of its logo and seal. There have been concerns in recent months about people using the rollout of Obamacare to pursue various financial scams.

An HHS spokesman, who asked not to be named, said the move was prompted by a suggestion from the agency's inspector general. "Based on a recommendation from the HHS Office of the Inspector General, the Department published our current seal in the Federal Register to bolster our ability to prevent misuse of the logo. Today’s publication codifies longstanding agency practice and does not reflect any change in HHS policy regarding its seal," the spokesman said.

The HHS notice was posted online Friday and is set to appear in the Federal Register next week. The new regulations also provide a helpful verbal description of the agency's logo, which features nested outlines of faces alongside a rough outline of an eagle's head.

"It represents the American People sheltered in the wing of the American Eagle, suggesting the Department’s concern and responsibility for the welfare of the people," the agency says.

UPDATE (Friday, 5:20 P.M.): This post has been updated with comment from HHS.